We stay engaged with Indian govt: US Dy State Secy Verma on alleged Pannun killing plot

New Delhi: US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma here on Tuesday said that America will stay engaged with the Indian government on the issue of the alleged bid to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the United States.

“I know we raised our concerns with the Government of India. There is a committee of inquiry looking into the matter, and we will stay engaged with the government and look forward to their findings. And they’ve taken it very seriously, and we’re grateful for that,” Verma said.

He made the remarks at the event titled ‘The Long View from DC: The India-US Partnership’ hosted by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in Delhi. His statement comes after the US Justice Department unsealed an indictment against an Indian national for his alleged involvement in the foiled plot to assassinate Pannun.

Earlier in November, the US Justice Department claimed that an Indian government employee (named CC-1), who was not identified in the indictment filed in a federal court in Manhattan, recruited an Indian national named Nikhil Gupta to hire a hitman to carry out the assassination, which was foiled by US authorities, according to prosecutors. Gupta is currently in custody in the Czech Republic and has been charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

In his remarks at the event, Richard Verma also emphasised on the ties between India and the US. He recalled that Mahatma Gandhi used to write to then-US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt about his writings.

He further said that Martin Luther King found inspiration in the writings of Gandhi, and stressed that this connection and ideas travel along three different vectors, which include overcoming the bondage and legacies of colonialism, fighting for social justice and equality and attempting to build a stable, inclusive democratic system governed by the people and called these ideas the foundation of the bilateral relationship between two nations.

Highlighting the growth of ties between India and the US, he said that the two nations, which earlier had no defence sales, were now major defence partners and were conducting complex exercises in every facet. He said that the bilateral trade between India and the US has witnessed a 100 per cent rise in the last 10 years.

Speaking about the Indian diaspora in the US, he said, “People-to-people ties, America boasts well over 4 million Americans of Indian descent, including a vice president and a leading presidential candidate. Last year, the US in this embassy issued over 1 million visas and now there are nearly 270,000 Indian students in the United States. I could go on and on through all the categories of our work together. But it’s safe to say we have done well. It has not been perfect. But I say this with all humility. It has been transformative and impactful and it has brought greater peace and stability to the Indo-Pacific region”

He noted that the world is better off when the US and India are cooperating fully and strongly together on the world stage. Calling India and the US “post-colonial democratic powers governed by a constitutional framework,” Verma said that the two nations aspire for equality, social inclusion, and racial and minority rights and other areas.

In his remarks, he said, “Our security cooperation will become even more important in the years ahead. The threats we face are real. But building our collective capabilities is increasing our sharing of information and improving maritime domain awareness and interoperability for example, we will ensure India continues to be a provider of net security across the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. And the US will continue to be at Pacific power for the decades ahead, security cooperation.”

Richard Verma, who is currently in Delhi, held a meeting with Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal. The two leaders held discussions on the trade ties shared by the two nations.

Delighted to meet Richard R. Verma, US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources.

Held fruitful discussions to further strengthen India-US trade & investment ties to explore new opportunities for greater collaboration & growth. 🇮🇳🤝🇺🇸@DepSecStateMR @USAmbIndia pic.twitter.com/F6wqfdRm0q

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) February 19, 2024

Sharing pictures from the meeting, Goyal, in a post on social media platform X, wrote, “Delighted to meet Richard R. Verma, US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources.”

“Held fruitful discussions to further strengthen India-US trade and investment ties to explore new opportunities for greater collaboration and growth,” he added.